Last evening I was sitting at the table with my wife and my son and I came across a soulful dialogue with my son. He is a very curious, sunny, but especially talkative child, every evening he tells what happened at school.

Sometimes I struggle to listen to him because I am caught up in a thoughts and worries, but what he told me today really left me speechless….

Three years ago he had taken part with me at GEMELS ESG, dedicated to the cleaning the green area of San Paolo D’Argon Plis. Mindful of that experience he told me what happened today on the class trip:

“Dad! Today while I was on the bus to go on a trip, my friends and I were having good time, when something strange happened and we all fell silent.

We saw the driver do something really bad: the driver rolled down the window and threw a piece of paper outside. My friends and I were speechless. Why he done that? We all looked at him, in silence, until one child whispered, “That’s not correct!”

With courage and my friends support, I stepped forward and asked him, “Mr. Driver, why did you throw that waste paper out the window? Don’t you care about nature?”

He turned toward us. He was very surprised by our serious faces and asked, “Why? Do you think one piece of paper can make a difference?”

I replied that if everyone did as he did, the world would become much dirtier and sadder. All together we reminded him that the environment belongs to everyone and needs us, every day.

The driver listens to us thoughtful, he also seemed to be reflecting on our words. Happy, we got off the bus, confident that we had done the right thing. And as we walked away, we noticed that the driver was still there… we saw him open the door and pick up the waste paper. Then he gave us a smile and waved goodbye.”

I listen to my son with proud,  I learned that the words and gestures of the youngest ones can make a big difference.

All it takes is a kind and courageous voice to remind everyone how precious the environment is and how even the smallest actions matter.

In GEMELS we believe that the true values of a business depend largely on education and respect, not only for employees, but also for the community in which it operates.

If every company paid more attention to its impact on the territory the world’s environmental situation could improve.